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"What?! One billion!" Mouri's mouth dropped open when he heard Inspector Megure say that the robbers had stolen a full one billion yen.
"One billion!" Mouri stretched out his ten fingers, trying to imagine what a billion looked like.
"Indeed! It's said that all the money the head office was supposed to distribute to the branch offices this time was stolen!" After speaking, Inspector Megure asked Conan again, "Conan, the license plate number of the culprit's car you just told me isn't wrong, is it?!"
"No, absolutely not!" Conan said affirmatively.
"The robbers were two masked assailants carrying handguns and shotguns... Fortunately, the guards' injuries aren't serious!" Inspector Megure stroked his chin in thought for a while, then turned to look at the three guards giving their statements.
"At that time, the armored car arrived, and we prepared to move the cash according to plan. Just then, the car window glass suddenly shattered. I was startled, and when I looked back, a masked man was standing outside the window,
pointing a gun at me. I frantically pressed the alarm bell to call Oyama and Murata in the driver's cab, but there was no response from the driver's cab. I thought they must have been killed, so I had no choice but to open the door." The guard who was moving the cash, Kishii, was describing what had just happened to the police.
"Hmm, that's strange. I clearly heard gunshots and glass shattering, which made me run to the entrance of the parking lot to peek. At that time, those two culprits had already started moving the cash, hadn't they?" Thinking of this, Conan was sure that guard Kishii didn't have time to call the driver's cab.
"Officer, you must understand, I was in a helpless situation at the time!" Guard Kishii said to the police officer taking his statement, his face tear-stained.
"Guard Uncle!" Conan said to Guard Kishii, holding the back of his head with both hands, "You're really lucky!"
"Huh, what do you mean by that?!" Guard Kishii and the police officer looked at Conan in surprise.
"The armored car is equipped with black glass that you can't see through from the outside, right?" Conan continued.
"That's right." Guard Kishii nodded, not understanding.
"Then, the robbers shot without being able to see inside. Not only did they not hit you, Uncle, but they also happened to hit the bag of small change, preventing bullets from ricocheting everywhere. Isn't this either incredibly good luck for you... or the culprits already knew the exact location of that bag of small change! Right?" As he spoke, Conan deliberately paused, observing Guard Kishii's reaction.
"Ah... you... what nonsense are you talking about!" Guard Kishii said nervously.
"Actually, that's just one possibility in my deduction! But now..." Conan was already certain that Guard Kishii was the inside man.
"Ms. Hirota, where on earth did you go at such a critical moment just now?" A balding middle-aged man said loudly.
Conan turned his head and saw that it was the bank manager, who was scolding Hirota Yumi.
"I'm truly sorry, but I was just on my lunch break!" Hirota Yumi said, aggrieved.
"Young girls nowadays, I don't know what they're thinking! Do you know what time it is now?! Is your watch broken?!" The bank manager continued relentlessly.
Hearing the manager scolding Hirota Yumi, another point of suspicion grew in Conan's mind.
Just then, Officer Takagi ran over, panting, to report to Inspector Megure that he had found a vehicle that might have been used by the culprits to escape.
"Really! Where is the car now, Takagi-kun?" Inspector Megure and Mouri both tensed up.
"The car is on the bank of the Tsufuen River, next to the TR line's railway bridge!"
"Good! I'll go there immediately! Mouri-kun, you come along too!" Inspector Megure then turned to Mouri.
"No problem! Ran, you take Yuu and the others back first!" Mouri instructed Ran before leaving.
Subsequently, Mouri, Inspector Megure, and Officer Takagi departed.
"We should go back, Conan? That kid's gone off somewhere again!" Unable to find Conan anywhere, Ran stomped her foot in frustration.
Yuu looked at the departing police car. "Shinichi, I'll leave that side to you. I'll go get some equipment first!"
When Inspector Megure and the others arrived at the scene, police officers were already examining it.
"Good work! How was your inspection?" Inspector Megure greeted them from afar.
"Ah, Inspector Megure, we've roughly looked it over! But all the fingerprints have been wiped clean!" A bespectacled police officer replied.
"What else was left behind?" Inspector Megure asked.
"Oh, larger items include five duralumin alloy boxes the bank uses to store money, but there are no fingerprints on them either! Also... hey, bring those things over!" Mizuki called out to someone in the distance. "Those things seem to have been placed in the driver's cab... Alright, thank you! Here, these are them!" Mizuki brought two plastic bags to Inspector Megure.
"What are these?" Inspector Megure took the two plastic bags in his hand.
"Aren't these masks and gloves!" Mouri said.
"Yes! Things like these simply can't be checked for fingerprints!" Mizuki said, "Oh my, little brother, you're here too!" Mizuki suddenly looked at Mouri's back and said with a smile.
"Little brother?" Mouri and Inspector Megure both turned around in surprise. It was Conan!
"Forensics Uncle!" Conan smiled and greeted the bespectacled officer.
"Damn it! Didn't I tell Ran to take you home?" Mouri rushed up to Conan and roared.
"Don't scold me yet!" Conan, scared, covered his face with his arms and whispered, "There's something on the mask!"
"Hmm?" Mouri and Inspector Megure immediately focused on the mask in the plastic bag.
"What's this pink mark?" Inspector Megure noticed something unusual on the edge of the mask.
"This pink thing should be..." Conan secretly deduced in his mind, "But why? Good..."
Conan stole a glance at Inspector Megure. While he wasn't paying attention, Conan ran over and snatched the plastic bag containing the mask: "Let me see!" This stunned Mouri and Inspector Megure.
"Just as I thought!" Conan put the mask to his nose and sniffed.
Thwack! Mouri's fist landed heavily on Conan's head.
"Ow!" Conan cried out, grimacing.
"What's 'ow'?! Why are you holding such important evidence?! Are you ever going to stop?!" Mouri lifted Conan high.
"Although this case started as a simple robbery investigation, it's definitely not a simple robbery! From when I started suspecting until I confirmed my premonition, it was only a few short minutes!" Although lifted high, Conan didn't stop thinking.